On 15 December 2021, the evaluation of the This is Me mindful life-storytelling game was published, open access, in the Journal of Aging Studies. The paper describes how the This is Me game has been co-designed and evaluated by researchers from the MinD team together with people with dementia, care partners and carers in four countries, including the UK, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain. Its aim is to provide support to people with early to mid-stage dementia, especially following the diagnosis. Based on concepts of life-storytelling and mindfulness, the game encourages players to talk about, and reflect on, their life experiences and aspirations to help payers focus on what they can and want to do with their life.
The game consists of a gameboard, 66 question cards, a die and four counters. The board shows a life-story path, divided into decades from childhood to 100+ years. During the game players follow the life-story path to pick corresponding cards. They read out and answer the question on the cards. The other players can answer the same question, or move on to roll the dice anew and pick the next question card. The questions relate to memories, activities, relationships, experiences, achievements, dreams. The questions enable the players to talk and share stories about the different stages of their life. The life-story path leads the players from reminiscing about the past towards what they can and may wish to do in the present and future.
During the evaluation, people with dementia who played the game in day groups with other people with dementia and caregivers felt that it was enjoyable, that it enabled them to share experiences, learn from and get to know others. Participants enjoyed the social interaction and felt that it could help people get out of isolation and think together with others about the future.
The This is Me game has been launched in collaboration between the MinD team and dementia wellbeing specialists Relish under the trademarked name All about Us, and it is now for sale on the Relish website and via online retailers:
Go to the game website